Call Us Today(732) 892-0485

How a Chiropractor Treats Your Sciatica

Sciatic is one of the most common nerve disorders affecting people today, and the symptoms can be anything from frustrating to downright debilitating. Plainly speaking, the root cause of sciatica is an imbalance in the lower lumbar region of your spine. This leads to your sciatic nerve being pinched or pressured unnaturally.

The pain of sciatica is, of course, rarely limited to the lower back. This is because the sciatic nerve is a very prominent nerve running from the lower back all the way down to the feet on both sides. That’s why people who suffer sciatica often report shooting, painful sensations starting in the lower back and extending down the legs. The pinched or pressured root of the nerve, located in the lower spine, causes the entire length of the nerve to react painfully.

Massaging the legs and back, or making use of other techniques such as ice or heat, can provide some temporary relief of symptoms. But in order to really resolve sciatica, it’s necessary to correct the spinal imbalance that’s causing it in the first place.

That’s where chiropractics comes in. By performing the right adjustments in the right place, a qualified practitioner is often able to relief pressure on the sciatic nerve. The result is a drastic reduction or complete elimination of symptoms.

So how specifically will your chiropractor diagnose and treat sciatica?

The first step is diagnosis. It’s true that the problem is always nerve compression of some kind, but there are different problems that lead to this compression, and the condition can manifest in different ways. A skilled chiropractor will move carefully through the diagnostic process, including a physical examination and the use of tools such as MRI, x-ray, and specific nerve tests. Detailed personal medical history will also be taken into account.

Once a specific diagnosis has been established, the chiropractor will design a treatment plan specifically for that individual patient. It will often involve a combination of spinal adjustments, head and cold therapies, electronic nerve stimulation, stretching exercises, and careful monitoring of progress. It’s possible that the right spinal adjustments will bring tangible relief almost immediately, and sometimes the underlying imbalance is corrected rather easily.

In other cases, a combination of spinal adjustments and other therapeutic treatments will be necessary over a period of time to gradually lift the pressure and free the sciatic nerve to function normally. Patients should expect immediate or complete results, but they should expect meaningful long-term results when they visit a skilled chiropractor for treatment of sciatica.

Relief is within reach!

For the millions of people who suffer from the frustrating condition known as sciatica, finding effective treatment is very high priority. Invasive treatments such as surgery, or the use of painkillers, are never ideal—such methods should be reserved for the most extreme cases. Natural, effective relief may be possible through chiropractics; but it’s necessary to find a truly qualified practitioner with years of experience in identifying and treating the condition. Once you have a skilled chiropractor in your corner, chances are excellent that your sciatica will improve significantly—if not disappear altogether.